The Latest from Boing Boing

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 07:43 PM PDT

Today on Offworld, Ragdoll Metaphysics columnist Jim Rossignol takes a deeper look at the recently much-hyped promises of "cloud gaming" services like OnLive and Gaikai -- who suggest that the days of buying powerful home processing hardware are numbered if our games were processed on the cloud and delivered via video streaming -- and what questions and concerns remain if and when the fantastic claims are seem fairly reasonable in a few years time. We also took a technical look into the five year development of Maxis' Spore via an exhaustive set of "liner notes" written by technology lead Chris Hecker (seen left, his very first created Spore creature) as well as art director Ocean Quigley's own blog, and played Don't Save The Princess, today's best indie PC game. Elsewhere we saw Bill O'Reilly discover the new world of Nintendo via a 1988 broadcast, imagined how Bioshock should have ended, saw a fantastic new LUA hack for Super Mario Bros 3 where all control of the game is given to painted-on rainbow stripes, and ordered a set of ruggish Pac-Man half-sized knuckle dusters. Finally, we played a game where Daft Punk seek their samples stolen by rival electro-duo Justice, pre-ordered adorable official Bubble Bobble shirts and ordered more wearables via the new Edge magazine shop, and, best of all, watched the latest video from pop duo Boy in Static created entirely with TextEdit and ancient .gif clipart -- and then played a game based on the same.

Can't see the video? Click here

Science fiction summer writing camp for teens: Shared Worlds

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 10:57 PM PDT

Matt sez, "'Shared Worlds' is a great summer writing workshop for creative kids with an interest in fantasy and science fiction."

Shared Worlds, an innovative two week workshop in fantasy and science fiction worldbuilding is currently seeking applications for attendance from students grade eight to twelve who have an interest in creative writing and fantasy worldbuilding.
The program is held from July 19 through August 1 on the campus of Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, and offers an intensely creative atmosphere in which students learn all aspects of building their own fictional world through instruction in creative writing, history, art, philosophy and physics and then apply that knowledge by creating fiction, games and more.
This year's instructors include assistant director and two time World Fantasy Award winning author Jeff VanderMeer, Weird Tales fiction editor Ann VanderMeer, role playing game designer Will Hindmarch, Spiderwick Chronicles creator Holly Black and New York Times bestselling author Tobias Buckell, plus Wofford College's own Dr. Christine Dinkins, philosophy professor, and Jeremy Jones, lecturer and camp director.
Although the emphasis of this think tank for teens is on fantasy, according to Jeff VanderMeer the things that the participants learn will be very useful in real life.

Take Part in one of the Summer's Most Innovative Creative Writing Programs for Teens. (Thanks, Matt!)

Previously:

Jeff Vandermeer talking to writing-camp students at Shared Worlds ...

Papercraft Wing Commander spaceships

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 10:53 PM PDT

Avi sez, "Paper Commander offers free downloadable pdfs of plans for paper models of cool spaceships from the Wing Commander universe. My favorite is the F-109 Vampire."

Paper Commander (Thanks, Avi!)

Can't see the video? Click here

Nervy Nat: 1907 comic from the guy who drew Uncle Sam

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 10:50 PM PDT

James sez, "James Montgomery Flagg, the guy who painted the famous Uncle Sam recruitment poster also penned a series of comics in the early 1900's called Nervy Nat. The folks at ASIFA posted a bunch, and the first, 'Nervy Nat as an Aeronaut' features a boozy Nat sailing to Venus in a Zeppelin."

Cartooning: James Montgomery Flagg's Nervy Nat (Thanks, James!)

Somali pirates versus European toxic-waste dumpers

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 10:46 PM PDT

Not all the Somali "pirates" are gangsters: some are locals who've watched their loved ones sicken and die after European toxic waste was dropped on their shores and decided to do something about it.

Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, tells me: "Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury - you name it." Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to "dispose" of cheaply. When I asked Mr Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: "Nothing. There has been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention."
At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by overexploitation - and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m-worth of tuna, shrimp, and lobster are being stolen every year by illegal trawlers. The local fishermen are now starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: "If nothing is done, there soon won't be much fish left in our coastal waters."
This is the context in which the "pirates" have emerged. Somalian fishermen took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least levy a "tax" on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia - and ordinary Somalis agree. The independent Somalian news site WardheerNews found 70 per cent "strongly supported the piracy as a form of national defence".
No, this doesn't make hostage-taking justifiable, and yes, some are clearly just gangsters - especially those who have held up World Food Programme supplies. But in a telephone interview, one of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali: "We don't consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits [to be] those who illegally fish and dump in our seas."

Johann Hari: You are being lied to about pirates (via Isen)

Previously:

Bill O'Reilly discovers Super Mario -- Offworld

Posted: 16 Apr 2009 01:16 AM PDT

Over on Offworld, our Brandon's discovered paleo-reportage about the miraculous virtual worlds available to young people who avail themselves of the NES and Super Mario -- anchored by an agog Bill O'Reilly who can only shake his head and marvel at kids today and the crazy stuff they get up to.

Bill O'Reilly and his ~~Peabody~~ Polk award winning crew at Inside Edition report on the emerging world of Nintendo, at a time when the Mario name meant Puzo more than plumber.
As a bonus, a look behind the scenes at Game Counselor HQ, and another teasing glance at that gold-covered 'Zelda Tips and Tactics' booklet that used to sing its (too expensive for a pre-teen) siren song to me from every. single. issue. of Nintendo Power.

Video: Bill O'Reilly gets wise to Super Mario Discuss this on Boing Boing Offworld

HOWTO make a Missile Commander skirt

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 10:40 PM PDT

The good people at Evil Mad Scientist Labs continue to break new ground with this Missile Commander poodle skirt, a smashing addition to any spring wardrobe and perfect for sock-hops.

Missile Command Circle Skirt

If you lose your Amazon account, your Kindle loses functionality

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 10:36 PM PDT

Ian bought a Kindle and some Kindle ebooks from Amazon. He also bought some real-world stuff from them, some of which he returned. Amazon decided that he'd returned too many things, so they suspended his Amazon account, which meant that he could no longer buy any Kindle books, and any Kindle subscriptions he's paid for stop working.

After some phone calls, Amazon granted him a one-time exception and lit his account up again.

Leaving aside losing your subscriptions, this would not be such a big deal if the Kindle had graceful ways of putting competitors' ebooks on your device. What's your experience getting non-Kindle books onto the Kindle?

Reload this Page Amazon has banned my account - my Kindle is now a (partial) brick. (via Consumerist)

Can't see the video? Click here

My DRM and ebooks talk from O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 10:29 PM PDT

Here's a talk I gave earlier this year at the O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing conference in NYC, about the way that DRM gives distributors control over publishers and writers. This talk went down very well, and is the source of "Doctorow's Law," which a lot of people have asked me about: "Any time someone puts a lock on something you own, against your wishes, and doesn't give you the key, it's not being done to your benefit."

There's some errata here, though: the Overdrive debacle was due to a licensing dispute, not a bankruptcy; and there's now a "DRM-free" option for the Kindle, but I can't find out if the file comes with legal encumbrances that would prevent people who buy one of these from moving it to a competing device (no one at Amazon will answer my queries about this). And I've also been told by Amazon that supposedly Audible will do DRM-free audiobooks, but they haven't answered repeated queries about the details of this.

TOC 09 "Digital Distribution and the Whip Hand: Don't Get iTunesed with your eBooks"

Automatic chicken coop door

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 10:10 PM PDT

On Dinosaurs and Robots I wrote about an automatic chicken coop door I built over the weekend.

Congrats to Chris Anderson and Jordi Muñoz for winning SparkFun's Autonomous Vehicle Competition

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 09:18 PM PDT

Congratulations to Wired editor Chris Anderson and Jordi Muñoz for for winning SparkFun's Autonomous Vehicle Competition today in Boulder, Colo. Their winning entry was a DIY Drone with GPS and digital compass navigation, which flew around the course in a little over thirty seconds.

Second place went to Team Mookemobile for their Deathpod 3000, which was the only other vehicle (out of 15 in the race) that made it around the entire course.

I'm writing an article about the exciting event for a future issue of MAKE, and you can be sure I'll let you know as soon as it's in print.

Best Government Flak Quote of The Week

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 08:47 PM PDT

Spokesperson for Mayor Gavin Newsom's office on a proposal that would make San Francisco the first city in the nation to sell and distribute medical marijuana:

"The mayor will have to hash this out with public health officials," press secretary Nathan Ballard said. "It's the mayor's job to weed out bad legislation. And to be blunt, this sounds pretty bad."

Mirkarimi proposal: Let S.F. sell medical pot (SF Gate, via Wayne's List)

Shepard Fairey Counterfiles in Associated Press Obama Poster Conflict

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 09:28 PM PDT

Attorneys for the recently-legally-beleaguered artist Shepard Fairey have filed a countersuit against the Associated Press over claims Fairey violated intellectual property rights in creating the iconic Obama poster. Fairey and his supporters argue that his work falls squarely within the boundaries of transformation and fair use. PDFs of the counterclaim documents below, at the bottom of this blog post.

The source close to Fairey's legal affairs who passed these directs our attention to a section which, in their words, "illustrates the hypocrisy of the AP." This section documents a number of instances in which Shepard's defense argues the AP has published -- and profited from -- Fairey's work, and that of other artists, without obtaining a license.

# On January 7, 2009 The AP distributed a story entitled "Iconic Obama portrait headed to Smithsonian museum" by Brett Zongker. The AP's article included a photograph attributed to The AP, which depicted Fairey's Obama Hope Stencil Collage that now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. (A copy of the full article is attached as Exhibit A and available at [link].) The AP did not obtain a license to use Fairey's work in this photograph. As shown below, the photograph attributed to The AP consists of nothing more than a literal reproduction of Fairey's work.
# The AP's image database contains the following photograph of Jeff Koons' sculpture entitled Ushering In Banality. On information and belief, The AP did not obtain a license to use Koons' work in this photograph.

# The AP's image database contains the following photograph of George Segal's The Diner. On information and belief, The AP did not obtain a license to use Segal's work in this photograph.

# The AP's image database contains the following photograph of Banksy's Di-Faced Notes. On information and belief, The AP did not obtain a license to use Banksy's work in this photograph.

# The AP's image database contains the following photograph of Keith Haring's Hope. On information and belief, The AP did not obtain a license to use Haring's work in this photograph.

(...) # The doctrine of unclean hands and basic principles of equity prohibit The AP from contending that Counterclaim Defendants' Obama Works infringe The AP's copyrights when The AP itself exploits the copyrighted work of Fairey and other artists without permission and in a manner that is far less transformative than the Obama Works, as illustrated but not limited to, the photographs listed above.

SHEPARD FAIREY and OBEY GIANT ART, INC., Plaintiffs, -against- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Defendant and Counterclaim Plaintiff, -against- SHEPARD FAIREY, OBEY GIANT ART, INC., OBEY GIANT LLC and STUDIO NUMBER ONE, INC.

* ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES (PDF)
* Shepard Fairey vs. AP: Answer, Exhibit A (PDF)

Previously:

Birdcage Dress by YourPsychoGirlfriend

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 06:37 PM PDT

The fabulous Kasey McMahon of yourpsychogirlfriend.com, whose Compubeaver and Text-o-Possum we featured in early Boing Boing TV episodes, has sent along this amazing photograph of a newly completed work: a fully functional birdcage dress. By "fully functional," I mean that it has birdies in it. There's an Instructables for it, too! Roll your own.

(thanks, Christy Canida and Kasey McMahon)

Previously:

HOWTO make adorable, edible Totoro cream puffs

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 06:32 PM PDT

Annathered has a wonderful, step-by-step HOWTO for creating delicious cream puffs in the shape of Totoro. The photoset is here, and the recipe and assembly instructions are here. (Thanks, Souris!)

Below, the trailer for the '80s Miyazaki anime classic on which the aforementioned dessert is based.

Somali Pirates Have a Livejournal

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 06:18 PM PDT

Here it is. And, wouldn't you know it, they have an opinion on the murder conviction delivered to Phil Spector, whom they reveal as one of their own.

[L]et us say this to you now, American dogs: your snipers may take us out with headshots, or your lawyers may frame us for murder. We care not about the methods, and we care less about the results. Because we are not all as easy to find as our fallen comrade who lived in a castle in Los Angeles. Most of our castles are in Somalia, and they are underground, and they are guarded by wild boars who haven't been fed this week.

Official Statement on the Phil Spector verdict (somalipirate.livejournal.com, thanks Sean Bonner)

Can't see the video? Click here

Diff'rent Strokes opening sequence, reconsidered

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 04:15 PM PDT

"Disturbing Strokes" is a great example of the power of music to affect mood and give different meaning to familiar visuals. (Thanks, Tara McGinley!)

Previously:

Unicorn Chaser

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 04:28 PM PDT

And now, we pause for a unicorn moment. Nothing banishes the retina-scarring horror of scutigera coleoptrata like amateur YouTube video homages to the beauty of unicorns.

It's Scutigera Coleoptrata Season!

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 02:37 PM PDT

Maggie Koerth-Baker is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. A freelance science and health journalist, Maggie lives in Minneapolis, brain dumps on Twitter, and writes quite often for mental_floss magazine.

Spring is in the air. The plants are sprouting. That last pile of snow on the shady part of your neighbor's lawn has successfully melted. And your bathroom is alive with terrifying, multilegged creatures that look like this:

Yes, it's active season for everybody's favorite arthropod, scutigera coleoptrata, aka the house centipede. One of these bad boys scuttled across my bathroom floor just last night. My cats, which were born in the South and are still somewhat disappointed by Minnesota's distinct lack of huntable palmetto bugs, think this is great. I'm less enthused. But I figure that when life hands you horrifying household pests, the least it can do is make them interesting.

With that in mind, I present:
Four Facts You Didn't Realize You Wanted To Know About That Thing Living Behind Your Toilet

1.Scutigera Coleoptrata are Not Your Fault
Stop beating yourself up. Unlike, say, cockroaches, house centipedes aren't hanging around because you didn't clean the kitchen. At least, not directly. Scutigera coleoptrata feed on spiders and insects--they're actually pretty beneficial if you're willing to do the devil's arithmetic here and decide that you'd rather have one fast-moving centipede than a colony of roaches. That said, leaving crumbs and half-eaten sandwiches about does create a nice environment for s. coleoptrata's food to grow in. So it might not hurt to clean.

2. Scutigera Coleoptrata are Efficient
They're actually capable of eating several other bugs at once, noshing on one meal while holding onto another with one of their 30 legs. They usually hunt at night, waiting for prey to get close enough that they can jump onto it, lasso it in, or whip it into submission.

3. Scutigera Coleoptrata are Not a Toy
House centipedes do their hunting via a set of venomous front legs. The good news: They won't come looking to start a fight with you and, most of the time, even if you do egg them into attacking, they won't be able to break your skin barrier. The bad news: That's only most of the time. S. coleoptrata has apparently successfully stung humans before. Not life-threatening, it's supposed to feel a lot like a bee sting.

4. Scutigera Coleoptrata Will Not Forget This
Unlike a lot of household pests that can be expected to die shortly after breeding, s. coleoptrata can live as long as seven years. There's a distinct possibility they've been in your house longer than you have. During that time, they can grow to be as big as 1.75 in. long. Unsurprisingly, getting rid of them isn't easy. Sticky traps are often recommended, but the house centipede can escape those by simply breaking off the stuck legs and growing them back later.

Photo courtesy Kenta Hayashi

Microscopically knit apparel for Neil Gaiman's Coraline

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 02:33 PM PDT

Althea Crome might be the only person in the world who imagines everything she sees in miniature and then knits them with tiny, tiny needles and thread. The intricacy of her work is simply amazing--I'm a hobby knitter myself, and can't even imagine working on such a microscopic scale. She was actually commissioned to hand-make ~~all~~some of the apparel in the movie version of Neil Gaiman's Coraline. [Web Urbanist via Neatorama]

Time Warner bandwidth cap protest this Saturday in Greensboro, NC

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 12:54 PM PDT

Jonathan sez, "I am planning an event, a protest sign pumping extravaganza, for this Saturday in Greensboro, NC. Greensboro is in the same boat as Rochester. Time Warner Cable will 'test' transfer limits here as well, starting this summer. I wanted to amplify the effect of Rochester people protest and got a decent feedback on Twitter. I started by tweeting and establishing a Facebook event, and contacting the city office today. If you could post this on BB I would really appreciate it. We need all the support and media coverage we can get. As you probably already know, TWC is embarking on anti-competitive practices, effectively limiting consumers use of online video, audio, and communications like VOIP. Analysts claim that the wholesale prices of bandwidth use is somewhere around $3 per 40GB. TWC wants to charge $75 per 100GB!!! Thats 1000% ($7.5/100GB)."

Time Warner protest planned for Saturday (Thanks, Jonathan!)

Previously:

Time-Warner bandwidth cap protest this Saturday in Rochester NY ...

Raquel Welch (On Cross)

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 12:29 PM PDT

Photographer Terry O'Neill created this lovely photo of Raquel Welch, crucified, for a "One Million Years BC" film poster.
Raquel Welch (On Cross) (Thanks, Richard Metzger!)

Can't see the video? Click here

Hand drawn mechanical schematic playing cards of the early 20th century

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 12:19 PM PDT

Amanda sez, "This is a collection of pictures of the playing cards hand-drawn by NYC subway engineer William Barclay Parsons, who died in 1932. The playing cards are beautifully illustrated with schematics and diagrams and sketches of pulleys, cranks, levers, and so on."

Parsons, William Barclay (Thanks, Amanda!)

AT-AT anatomy tee

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 11:38 AM PDT

Roger sez, "My new tee features an x-ray image of an At-At walker. 'Since the Dark Side started using genetically modified walkers, they found many had to visit the Imperial Veterinary Clinic of Osteology suffering with acute pain in their hip joints. X-rays revealed their skeleton structure was just not strong enough to manoeuvre wearing those heavy boots. No amount of Cod Liver oil would ease their pain.'"

AT-AT Anatomy T-Shirt (Thanks, Roger!)

Excursion to the Center of the Earth

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 11:14 AM PDT

I really need to start keeping a list of my favorite ludicrous plans, if for no other reason than so I can say, "This is my absolute favorite ludicrous plan," and not have it be just hyperbole. That said, I've been working for mental_floss in some capacity since I graduated college in 2004. In that time, I have read about a lot of grandiose, impractical ideas. But this is one I go back to when I'm having a bad day and need cheering up.

In 2003, CalTech planetary scientist David J. Stevenson proposed a way to send a probe down into the depths of the Earth. Published in Nature, "Modest Proposal: Mission to the Earth's Core" laid out a detailed plan for inter-Earth investigation--it was brilliant, theoretically possible (or so I'm told) and only briefly mistaken for an April Fool's joke. For your convenience, I have taken the liberty of breaking Stevenson's proposal down into four steps.

Step 1: Get $10 billion. Surprisingly, this is not the hardest part.

Step 2: Find a nation willing to take one for the team, by letting you blast a 984-foot-deep hole in their country with a nuclear bomb.

Step 3: Pour in enough molten iron to fill your new crevasse. Hopefully, gravity should now kick in, pulling the heavy metal toward the center of the Earth and lengthening your original hole at a rate of about 10 miles per hour. At that speed, your iron river should reach the Earth's core in a week or so. And, naysayers, never fear. According to Dr. Stevenson's calculations, high pressures below ground would reseal the earth after the iron passed by--preventing any awkward uncloseable chasms.

Step 4: Before the flow of iron gets moving too fast, toss in a probe. For maximum effectiveness, said probe should be able to withstand temperatures surpassing 3000° Fahrenheit and pressures 1000 times greater than the bottom of the deepest ocean. It also has to have a strong enough signal that it can reach the center of the Earth and still transmit some data back to you. As you go through the bidding process, do remember that you get what you pay for. And, in case American manufacturing has lost its edge, let's go with an unmanned probe. Better safe than sorry.

Image is courtesy Michael Rogalski.

BB Video: The Flaming Bacon Lance of Death, from Theo Gray's book "Mad Science"

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 11:04 AM PDT

MP4 Download here. YouTube channel here, subscribe on iTunes here. Twitter updates @boingboingvideo, and here are blog post archives for Boing Boing Video.

Yesterday, I blogged about the release of Popular Science columnist Theo Gray's new book, MAD SCIENCE.

In today's episode of Boing Boing Video, a collaboration with PopSci, we debut the world-premiere of the first video documenting the sort of experiments you'll find in this book -- in which Theo cuts steel with bacon. It's a FLAMING BACON LANCE OF DEATH.

Yes, that's right, using nothing but bacon -- okay, prosciutto -- and an air hose, Mr. Gray constructs a high performance thermic lance that seriously cuts sheet metal.

In this video, you'll also see a purely VEGAN THERMIC LANCE built from one cucumber and several dozen thin vegetable-oil coated breadsticks. (Tip: the performance is all about the oil). This hotrod burns fast and furious, but does not last long enough to initiate a cut in steel sheet. The flame front travels towards the back of the cucumber and endangers the operator when it reaches the rubber connector.

CUCUMBER VEGAN FLAMING LANCE - THEODORE GRAY

Theo also built a CUCUMBER-BEEFSTICK LANCE. A high-performance thermic lance constructed from seven beefsticks and a cucumber. Later versions used Pup-Peroni brand dog treats, which are exactly like beef sticks only cheaper.

In some ways this device out-performed the Bacon Lance, and it's much easier to build.

But it's not made of bacon.

Theo tells Boing Boing,

"Cucumber is an *excellent* base for these things because it's air-tight, moist (to resist fire), easy to core, and has a rubbery skin that makes an air tight seal. About the only thing wrong with cucumbers is that they are not made of bacon. (I have a thing called a "fruit coring tool" which is like a very small round cookie cutter on a stick. You drill it down the middle of the cucumber until it comes out the other end, then stuff the cucumber with the chosen fuel.)"

Here are Theo's columns at PopSci.com. And more on the flaming bacon of death at PopSci.com.

These devices were created by Theodore Gray. Videography in this BB Video episode by Nick Mann (shot on the 5D Mk II). Stills are by Mike Walker.

Previously: Mad Science: Experiments You Can Do at Home, But Probably Shouldn't (Book)

SparkFun autonomous vehicle competition today in Boulder, CO

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 12:19 PM PDT

If you're in Boulder, Colorado right now, I hope you'll join me at SparkFun's offices for its Autonomous Vehicle Competition.

April 15th, 2009 10AM - Rain, shine, or snow
Create a vehicle that can autonomously navigate around the SparkFun building
$300 cash first prize

Colonize a Nation, the mental_floss Way

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 08:51 AM PDT

I'm going to launch right into my guest blogging stint with one of my favorite chunks from Be Amazing, the book I recently wrote with mental_floss magazine. The basic idea: Anybody can increase their awesomeness quotient, all it takes is a little advice and inspiration.

To anybody who ever wanted to grow up to be an absolute monarch...this one's for you. (Also, there's a nice tie-in to tax day. Hooray for news hooks!)

How To Colonize a Nation
Step 1: Pick a Target

Let's face it, this was easier back in the day when it was open season on any landmass--no matter how large--provided you had guns, and the other guy didn't. Nowadays, you're probably going to have to stick to colonizing tiny nations that can't fight back. Luckily, the Pacific Ocean is home to plenty of these. Case in point: The Republic of Minerva, a would-be libertarian paradise established in 1972 by Nevada businessman Michael Oliver. According to a New York Times article form that year, Minerva was to have no income taxes--opting instead for a system that gave business and individuals special incentives for contributing to the government (sort of like a high-stakes version of the PBS pledge drive). However, the wise colonizer will note that this also meant they had no standing army.

Step 2: Make a Good First Impression
If you really clinch this step, you might not even have to fire a shot. Just ask Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, the King of Tonga, a nation located about 260 miles east of the Republic of Minerva. About five months after Oliver founded Minerva, King Tupou arrived to greet--and invade--the new neighbors. Reports on the invasion force vary, but it apparently involved one or more of the following: A military gunboat, a convict work detail, and a rowboat manned by the king and his ceremonial brass band. At any rate, the invasion was successful and on June 21, 1972, the Minervan flag was hauled down and the atoll became part of the Kingdom of Tonga.

Step 3: If At First You Don't Succeed...
Unfortunately for Tonga, that brass band wasn't enough to intimidate away all the other would-be conqueror-come-latelies. A gang of Americans showed up in 1982 and held the island for three weeks before Tonga had to send troops to chase them off. And a more legit claim was made by Fiji in 2005; one that made it all the way to the International Seabed Authority. The atoll's ownership probably won't be settled until later this year. Of slightly less concern is the claim made on the land by "Prince Calvin," a Charleston, South Carolina man who declared the atoll his principality in 2003.

Can't see the video? Click here

Boing Boing guest blogger: Maggie Koerth-Baker

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 08:14 AM PDT

Please welcome our new guest blogger, Maggie Koerth-Baker! She says:

I write about health and science for magazines and Web sites like MSN.com, LiveScience.com, Discover and Prevention. I used to be an assistant editor for mental_floss magazine. Now I just write for them a lot. In the line of journalistic duty, I have made 3:00 am international phone calls to talk about heavy metal; spent countless hours at my local public library; and bitten the head off a live fish.
I recently wrote a book with mental_floss called Be Amazing: Glow in the Dark, Control the Weather, Perform Your Own Surgery, Get Out of Jury Duty, Identify a Witch, Colonize a Nation, Impress a Girl, Make a Zombie, Start Your Own Religion . It's a handy little guide to creating a more awesome version of yourself, via lessons from the great successes (and failures) of history, politics, science and art. I'm looking forward to sharing some of my favorite snippets from the book here on Boing Boing. Hell, I'm just excited to say, "here on Boing Boing." It won't all be book promotion, though. Promise. I research cool stuff for a living, have a big mouth and lack coworkers. There is plenty to share.
I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sadly, I have never taken a purifying dip in the waters of Lake Minnetonka. Or seen Prince. Direct all other questions/observations/over-sharing to my email (maggie.koerth@gmail.com).

Secretive US prisons hold "terrorists" including animal rights activists and people who gave to the wrong charity

Posted: 15 Apr 2009 07:56 AM PDT

Will sez, "The Department of Justice is using secretive prison facilities on U.S. soil, called Communication Management Units, to house inmates accused of being tied to 'terrorism' groups. They overwhelmingly include Muslim inmates, along with at least two animal rights and environmental activists."

It is difficult to discern the rationale behind why some inmates are transferred to the CMU and others are not. For instance, John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban," is housed at the CMU in Terre Haute. He pleaded guilty to supporting the Taliban and carrying a rifle and grenades on the battlefield in Afghanistan. However, the government announced last month it is actually easing restrictions on his communication.
In the case of Andy Stepanian, he was one of six codefendants, and by the admission of prosecutors he was one of the minor players in the case. He is not accused of any violent crime or any property destruction, and had no disciplinary problems while incarcerated. Stepanian received the second-lowest sentence of the group, and his codefendants are not in CMUs.
Daniel McGowan's notice of transfer to the CMU gives some indication of the government's reasoning. It says that he has been identified "as a member and leader in the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and Animal Liberation Front (ALF), groups considered domestic terrorist organizations."
But in a letter from the CMU, McGowan wrote: "It's funny-I have like 13 codefs [codefendants] + there are 11 other eco prisoners and I end up here."
Part of the explanation for his transfer to the CMU, it seems, is that he is a vocal, prominent activist with a large group of active supporters. For McGowan, his near celebrity status within the environmental movement, along with his continued activism, has become a liability. When I attended his sentencing hearing in Eugene, Ore., in 2006, the judge made a point of criticizing his media appearances and his website, SupportDaniel.org.

Secretive U.S. Prison Units Used to House Muslim, Animal Rights and Environmental Activists (Thanks, Will!)